Hailey's Homecoming

Thought it would be nice to focus on one of the babies for right now (Hannah's post to come soon!).

It was one year ago today that we brought Hailey home from the NICU after her 54 day stay. It was definitely an emotional day; I was filled with joy over the thought of bringing her home and yet also sad that Hannah had to stay. It's so strange how I remember so much about that day and the night before. I even remember what we ate the night before she came home!
After leaving the hospital, Hailey traveled back to Columbus with me and Matt. I was so nervous about having her that first night. We had to set an alarm to get up and feed her every 3 hours and during that time we changed her diaper and took her temperature, just like in the hospital. After that first night home, Hailey went back to Birmingham with us and stayed at the Ronald McDonald house until it was time to bring Hannah home. We took turns staying in the room with her and walking to the NICU to see Hannah.
Here's a few stats:
When we came home, Hailey weighed just over 5 pounds. Now, she weighs over 20.
When we came home, she was eating a whopping 2 ounces every 3 hours. Now, she eats anything we give her and usually wants more!

Here's a few pictures of the day we brought her home!

First Birthday!

This past Saturday we had the girls' birthday party. We had a really good time and it was great just getting everybody together to eat and celebrate what has truly been an amazing year. We had the party at our church's fellowship hall because our house is simply too small to contain our big family. We decorated and had a table with pictures of the girls plus some of their preemie things (micro preemie diapers, outfits, etc.) so people could see just how small they were and how far they have come.

At the end of the day I was totally exhausted and so were the girls. They seemed to really enjoy the party and did really well with all the excitement going on around them. We took a ton of pictures but here are just a few.


Opening presents

A very happy Hannah

Hailey
Hannah at the end of her cake demolition

Hailey, covered in icing and looking very sleepy

One year ago...

It has dawned on me (kind of, I've actually been thinking about it a lot lately) that yesterday marked one year that I was admitted to the hospital to be put on 24/7 monitoring due to the high risk situation of my pregnancy. For those of you who may not know, Hailey and Hannah were a pretty rare type of twins known as monoamniotic. Simply put, they were in the same amniotic sac and their cords got all twisted together. A full term pregnancy and natural delivery were not options. I was told we would monitor their hearts and hopefully make it to 32 weeks when we would schedule a c-section. When admitted I was 28 weeks, so I was looking at a 4 week hopsital stay. So, one year ago I was laying in a hospital bed still getting used to the idea of being covered in gel and having three monitors strapped to my huge stomach. I had no clue that in just one week my amazing little miracles would be born. As a matter of fact, I was thinking of all the time I had to read, write, waste time on the internet, learn to crochet...

The past few days have been pretty emotional for me. I guess with it being a year brings back to mind everything we went through getting Hailey and Hannah here. It's absolutely amazing what can happen in just one year's time and how much God has taught me about faith and patience during this year. I had to learn to depend on Him in a whole new way that I have never had to before. There were no certanties during this time in our lives. There was nothing we could do to prevent something horrible from happening except to lay in bed and keep the monitors on. Thanfully, I was cared for by a wonderful doctor and nursing staff who kept a very close on everything. During the one week I was in the hospital, I had so many wonderful friends and family memebers who came by to see me and keep me company if even for a few minutes. I have definitely not made it through this year alone. I have an absolutely amazing husband who has been there every step of the way. I honestly don't know how/if I could have done it without him.

Maybe I can get all of my tears out of the way before Hailey and Hannah's party next Saturday. I'm sure there will be tears of joy as well as just utter disbelief and thankfulness for the ways in which we have been blessed this past year.

It's been awhile...

Ok, so maybe I'm not the best "blogger." Or maybe I'm lazy. Or maybe I just don't ever think about it. Or maybe I'm just really busy. Probably a combination of all those things. Anyways, just wanted to give a little update on the girls. They are both doing great! Hailey is still crawling and pulling up on everything, yes everything. She will occasionally let go with one hand and just hold herself up with the other. Hannah is doing very well in physical therapy. She is turning her head wonderfully and getting much better at trying to sit up and bearing weight on her arms. We are still trying to get her to use her right arm a little more but she is doing better. Both of the girls are eating like crazy. They love to feed themselves and some nights do not care for me to feed them so I have to find something they can do themselves. Some of their favorites are puffs, cheerios, cooked carrots, pasta, and drained soup. They also love baby yogurt. We are having a great time trying new foods and textures and letting them learn to self feed, although it can be a HUGE mess... :)

We are also in the process of getting plans ready for their first birthday. I am in absolute shock that their birthday is only a few weeks away. It just doesn't seem possible that it was a year ago. I keep thinking back to where I was a year ago... It's amazing. Everybody says that the first year just flies by and I admit, I doubted that statement when we were waking up every three hours to feed, and not getting a full night's sleep for so long. But now, all of sudden that first year is gone and I have no idea where it went! I don't want to dwell on it too much now because I still get all soppy and teary when I do! I'll post more about their first year when the day is actually here.

In the meantime, here are some pictures!

Hailey trying to escape out the front door

Me and some very sleepy babies

One of the pictures we put on the birthday invitations, but in black and white

All bundled up and ready to go!

Merry Christmas!

Ok, I'm a few days early but I don't see myself taking much time to post the rest of this week as we will be pretty busy. We have a lot of plans this Christmas and are going to make an attempt to see just about everybody. So far the girls have handled all our Christmas get togethers really well (we've had four-one family thing and three church things). As long as they are well rested and fed they tend to be happy. I just hope we don't get too caught up in all the running around and forget what we're celebrating. Next year we plan on starting our own tradition of being at home on Christmas morning. This year I plan to start a tradition of reading the girls the Christmas story on Christmas night.
This Christmas should be interesting as Hailey has just this week began crawling and Hannah has been trying to eat the presents that are under the tree. Hailey is one we really have to watch because she is beginning to get into everything. She absolutely loves crawling and pulling up to her knees. Hannah still loves rolling as her primary means of transportation but can reach the branches on the tree just as well. They enjoy playing with paper so I forsee that being more interesting to them than the presents. Both girls have been enjoying puffs and are really getting good at feeding themselves. Maybe we'll try to start some more "real" food?! For their adjusted age everything is going well. Hannah is still having trouble with some things but is making good progress. Overall, I think we will have a wonderful Christmas and wish the same to everyone!

The perfect gift? Bibs of course!

Before I get to the title of this post, our beautiful girls are now 10 months old! This past Friday we hit double digits. Both girls are doing great. Hannah is still doing well in physical therapy and her torticolis is improving. She is still a little unsteady while sitting but loves being on her tummy and in the jumperoo. She can roll extremely well and this seems to be her transportation of choice. Hailey is rocking on all fours and scooting backwards as well as spinning in circles. Yesterday she was on her tummy, grabbed the edge of the bouncer, and pulled up onto her knees! She also loves the exersaucer. I think she likes all the racket it makes when she jumps. Both Hannah and Hailey are babbling like crazy and enjoying trying new foods. We are still pretty on track for their adjusted age, which is about 7.5 months.

Now, we have a living room full of toys that we have purchased or that have been given to us. Don't get me wrong, Hailey and Hannah love their exciting toys but they seemed to have a great time playing with a bib this afternoon! I was not feeling well at all and it gave me a good laugh. Well, I smiled and laughed inside because my voice is gone. It was pretty funny and I took a lot of pictures but here are a couple.


Tug of war! Hannah is on the left, Hailey on the right.


Hailey is really trying to get the bib away. Every time she would get it for a second, Hannah would start to whine/cry. They are starting to get to a point where they really do not like toys being taken away. Especially if it's a really fun toy, like a cell phone or remote control.

Giving Thanks

It's hard to believe that it was only a year ago that my monoamniotic pregnancy was confirmed. The day before Thanksgiving we went to Jackson for a high resolution, target ultrasound and hoped to find a membrane dividing the babies. Instead, the doctor was able to see entangled cords. At this same appointment, we learned that we would be having two girls and that they were developing normally and healthy despite the situation, definitely something to be thankful for. This year we had even more blessings to thank God for. The past year has not been easy but we now have two beautiful, happy, healthy girls to be thankful for!

This year we spent Thanksgiving in two places. First we went to Louisville to see Fru-Fru where we ate lunch with family. We then traveled to Fulton (pretty good drive!) to eat with Matt's side of the family. Hailey and Hannah handled well, I was so proud of them. Everybody had a great time and they enjoyed all the attention. I left the camera in the car once we got to Fulton but here are some pics from Louisville. It was an absolutely gorgeous day so we were able to go outside for awhile.

Aunt Mary and Fru-Fru rocking with Hannah and Hailey

Hailey grabbing onto the rockerMy favorite picture we took, Hannah, Hailey, their cousin Emma all playing in the grass and leaves! They had a blast!